


Treasure Trove

by Suzume



Category: Suikoden IV
Genre: Gen, Hobbies, Treasure Hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-14 06:15:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4553913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzume/pseuds/Suzume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lazlo builds a collection.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Treasure Trove

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_Harken](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Harken/gifts).



 “You can either be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It all depends on how you view your life.”

-Paulo Coelho

 

* * *

 

 

         The rush of the water over his body as he broke the boundary between ocean and air. The pressure of the ocean against his body; the pressure of the air inside his lungs. …the glint of gold he had caught sight of lying below, beneath the clear and sun-flecked depths.

         All of them were things that made Lazlo feel alive.

 

         He could have asked Lilin to dive for the gold bangle for him or gotten her to ask one of her sisters (some of them were a bit shy speaking to humans and Lazlo hadn't entirely impressed upon his memory yet which was which), or perhaps Shiramine and Ugetsu could have brought it up with a line or net, but he wanted to do the diving on his own. Without armor to weigh him down, his half-dressed body's natural buoyancy tugged him upward, but Lazlo would fight his way down to the seabed with all the strength in his arms and legs.

         He reached out, stretching, straining, couldn't he reach just a little further? His fingers brushed across the surface of the metal before another try netted him just enough reach to hook one finger through his goal. A bracelet, sparkling and delicate. He adjusted his grip to hold it tight as he shot back to the surface with a spray of saltwater, slowly treading water as he caught his breath and examined his new find. In the old days back in Razril his servant life would have taught him this was real gold. Now, with scores of conversations over found objects with Nabokov and Pecola had taught him this piece was of Obelese make and didn't appear in line with the most current fashions.

         How old was this bracelet and how long had it taken for it to come to rest here in a shallow stretch of sea between islands? Maybe Lino would know because it was about Obel. …or maybe better to talk to Tanya or someone else well-acquainted with the tomes in their shipboard library who would actually know these things.

         The coracle shook as Lazlo hauled himself aboard, dripping onto his ropes and baskets. Sun glinted off the hand mirror he could use if he needed to return to the _Dauntless_ in a hurry. From his current location he could see the main vessel of their fleet hovering idly between some of the small nameless islands near Nay. If Wendel or Nico were curious, they could probably see him through a spyglass. If anyone needed him urgently they would send up a flare (Pablo had been called upon to fire one once before).

         Lazlo lay back in the small craft, letting the sun begin to dry him off. His black shorts drew its rays, warming quickly. The rest of his ordinary clothing lay discarded toward the bow of the boat, removed once he had decided he felt like diving. It was a nice feeling, bobbing gently in place on the calm and shallow sea. They called that Troy in Kooluk's command 'the child of the sea god' or something like that, didn't they? Back in Razril, Meena, the head of Lord Vingerhut's household staff used to say nearly the same thing about him, just not in a way so pretentious or grand- 'sea child,' she'd call him. "I am a sea child too, Lazlo," she'd say. They weren't entirely unheard of in Razril. The currents would bring all sorts of things to their shores and even more within their territorial waters. Did that quality make him more at home on the waters than the average person? Maybe he instinctively trusted the sea to keep him safe. …the opposite of the rune then.

         He slipped the newfound bangle over his wrist and watched the sun play over its surface. It was a close fit to squeeze over his hand. It made him think it had been made with a woman in mind. …Of course, Lazlo didn't intend to wear it regularly, so it didn't matter. It was just another pretty piece for his cache.

         Among the islands, famous caches of pirate treasure long outlived the men and women who had gathered (had found or stolen or assembled through some combination of legal and illicit means) and hidden them. The will of the rune could tip any day and suck the life from him before departing for the vessel of another bearer. And even if the rune stayed, Kooluk could sink the _Dauntless_ or he could suddenly meet his end in any of the other innumerable ways offered up by the war. But in the meantime, Lazlo would ornament his vessel and build up his horde. He would live to enjoy the beauty he had collected or die, willing it on to whoever wished to claim it after him (he had never realized how good at collecting was back on Razril- now he gathered things and people and cruised the ocean on what might as well have been a royal treasure boat).

 

 

         Some of his compatriots at sea were more understanding of his treasure-hunting urge than others. Lino found it harmlessly amusing, even if, perhaps, he wished more focused efforts were being made to liberate his kingdom, but he was an easy-going kind of king and understood well how a person under so much pressure, particularly someone so young, would need to blow off steam. Elenor didn't appear to approve, but she must not have _disapproved_ all that strongly either since her main reaction seemed to be ignoring it. The Lo siblings though, Kika and her crew, Rene- a lot of other members of the fleet actively encouraged him and would bring him finds to add to his collection all on their own.

         Lazlo distributed the pieces that could be used to spruce of the ship here and there, talking out his interior design ideas with Pecola, who usually had all sorts of good advice. The armor and occasional weapon he handed out to members of their fleet based on use and need, though some had to pass through Adrienne's skillful hands and forge for reworking before it was suitable for active duty again.

         The old coins and miscellaneous trinkets though, he hoarded in his cabin, stored in a wooden chest under his bed as a proper pirate should. If there was some drastic need to raise funds, he might be convinced to part with them in service of the war effort, but he relished both the collecting and the keeping. He would ignore the troubles of his life both past and present and imagine himself as a pirate king.

         He lay on his stomach on the bed, leaning over the edge and dragging his fingers through his store of treasures, letting knicked-edged coins with the faces of Harmonian saints, lost halves of sets of pearl earrings, and fragments of gold and silver chains move around his hands like some sort of particularly cold and solid water.

         What a strange and different life he had achieved from his servant's existence in the span of a few tumultuous months. …what would come next? Lazlo didn't dwell on it. He smiled and wondered where he would uncover his next piece of treasure.


End file.
